Photo: Merrimack College goaltender Rasmus Tirronen signed an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes after completing his NCAA career (courtesy of Michael Tureski/Icon Sportswire)

With the NCAA hockey season winding down and the CHL playoffs now underway, the NHL prospect and free agent signing season is now in full swing. Several players have come to terms over the past week, with those signings being covered in a pair of articles split between the NHL’s Eastern and Western Conference clubs. Read more»

Photo: University of Denver defenseman Joey LaLeggia (L) and Harvard University forward Jimmy Vesey (R) are two standouts taking part in the East and Midwest regionals at the 2015 NCAA Hockey Tournament (courtesy of Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

The 16 schools that make up the field for the 2015 NCAA Hockey Tournament have been chosen, with the regionals that makeup the tournament getting underway beginning today. Two of those regionals, the Northeast and West, go off today and were previewed by Hockey’s Future yesterday. The East and Midwest regionals begin tomorrow, and are previewed below. Read more»

Photo: Boston University forward Jack Eichel and University of North Dakota goaltender Zane McIntyre are two Hobey Baker top 10 finalists competing in the Northeast and West regionals of the 2015 NCAA Hockey Tournament (courtesy of Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire (L) and Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images (R))

Photo: Top AHL rookies Daniel Carr of the Hamilton Bulldogs (L) and Connor Brown of the Toronto Marlies (R) go head-to-head in one of the more interesting NHL prospect matchups this weekend (courtesy of Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

All three CHL leagues begin playoff action this weekend. There are three particularly interesting games on hand, games that feature a mix of high-end prospects and valuable role players as teams in the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL collide. Meanwhile, the NCAA Tournament begins this weekend, and one matchup in particular is worthy of extra attention. In the AHL, two top scorers from far different backgrounds clash as the AHL season starts to wind down. Read more»